November 11, 2015
Story and photo by Brandon Steinert
U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins met with Barton Community College Board of Trustees Chair Mike Johnson and Barton President Dr. Carl Heilman Tuesday afternoon to discuss the college’s prevalence as a comprehensive community college in Kansas.
“We have a secret that we’d like to get out,” Heilman told Jenkins. “We’ve received a number of comments that legislators are not aware of the scope of Barton’s services. Our priority now is to get the word out.”
He described Barton’s many services that reach beyond the borders of its home county, such as its campus at Fort Leavenworth, which is in Jenkins’ district, a campus at Fort Riley, OSHA training services that cover four states and Military Onsite Training (MOST), which offers military training to soldiers at bases across the nation.
Barton’s Fort Leavenworth campus is the most recent addition to Barton’s outreach activities, and like the others, it supports the operation of the college and helps offset the mill levy for Barton County taxpayers while offering valuable opportunities to military families.
Jenkins said she was glad to learn about Barton’s efforts and is grateful for the dedication the college has to serving Kansans.
“I am proud to have met you,” Jenkins said as the meeting concluded.
Johnson said the discussion was productive and is part of the Board’s goal to ensure legislators know of Barton’s efforts throughout the state.
“We want to show people the impact we’re having,” he explained. “We’ve been at Fort Riley for 30 years, and our success there led to our invitation to offer classes at Fort Leavenworth.”
Barton is also inviting the community to provide feedback at feedback.bartonccc.edu.